OTish - What's Happening with Darius Morris?
I don't follow pro basketball very closely but as I understand it they're running out of time to end the strike without cutting into the actual season. My thoughts turned to our most recent draftee, Darius Morris. I know he was drafted in the second round by the Lakers, but beyond that I'm real fuzzy on the details and a quick internet search didn't provide much clarification.
Did Darius get actually signed before the draft? Did he get a bonus? Or is he left without a job or a paycheck until the strike ends?
Hindsight is 20/20 so it's not really fair to restart the "should he have entered the draft" debate. I'm just wondering how he's doing as the league he signed up to play in collapses around him.
October 6th, 2011 at 12:22 AM ^
He hasn't signed a contract yet and won't be able to until the lockout is over (which better be soon, because I <3 me some NBA). I do know that the Lakers let him drive a car that looks like a bat mobile. That's all I know. I'm not joking.
October 6th, 2011 at 12:22 AM ^
But I would be surprised if darius ever plays for L.A. It's sad to think about it since playing for the lakers is his dream but the most likely outcome is him being traded.The lakers will be a major player for one of the big time PG's in the upcoming free agent class and they will move him.
October 6th, 2011 at 12:29 AM ^
I think it's possible he could stick around there if he plays well enough. Fisher is 37 and Steve Blake is over 30 and not any good anyways. At this point his ceiling is certainly higher than either of those two guys. And even if they get a big time PG, he can still hang around as a backup. Just because they might bring in a big name doesn't mean they are just gonna give him away.
October 6th, 2011 at 3:40 AM ^
After Dallas and Portland, LA was probably the best place for Darius to land. He's on a winning team and the starting point guard probably has one year left in the league; backup point guard might not have many himself. LA WILL NOT be a player in free agency because they have the highest payrool in the league this year and have no cap room. They might sign a midlevel guy for a few years but if Darius continues to develop he is their future.
Darius probably has a clearer path to the starting PG position than anyone next year that is a rookie besides Jimmer and Kyrie.
Darius isn't going overseas because he needs to be ready the day training camp starts to 1) make the team (he is a second round pick) and 2)position himself to beat out Blake for the backup PG position.
Players that are playing in China this year are stuck there for the year and can't get out of their contract, likewise for most contract-less NBA players that went to Europe. Only players currently under contract playing in Europe got out clauses for when the NBA season begins. Rookies don't have that kind of leverage so the safe bet is to train and be ready for training camp. I have no doubt Darius will be ready.
October 6th, 2011 at 12:23 AM ^
No pay, but a possible contract with Nike. Some of the rookies are getting fronted by their agents.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-nba-unemployed-20111006,0,3021514.s…
I don't know if I agree about hindsight--the lockout was a known risk. That doesn't mean he was wrong to come out. "Don't be a resultant," says one of my applied math friends.
October 6th, 2011 at 12:26 AM ^
The NBA should not have locked out the year that Darius Morris entered the league
October 6th, 2011 at 12:37 AM ^
Thank you captain hindsight.
October 6th, 2011 at 12:33 AM ^
Darius is working out regularly at Impact basketball academy in LA. For those who don't know what impact is, its a high end training facility for professional basketball players and prospects.
As for money, I don't have any answer for that.
October 6th, 2011 at 12:39 AM ^
Morris should book a flight on El-Al airlines and see if he can catch on over there. I'm guessing the billionaires keep the millionaires locked out for most of this season. Morris wouldn't be violating any contract if he went to Europe, Israel, Japan, China, etc, because he hasn't signed one.
October 6th, 2011 at 8:21 AM ^
From what I understand, that's easier said than done. Superstars have the power to sign a contract with a european/asian club and be released when the lockout ends, but everyone else has to commit to a normal contract. I would imagine this is especially true for rookies who haven't signed contracts or even made teams yet.
October 6th, 2011 at 8:22 AM ^
doesn't matter whether he has a signed contract. the players are locked out by the owners and are free to seek employment elsewhere and, as far as I understand, don't need to come back to honor their prior contract once the lockout is lifted.
October 6th, 2011 at 12:55 AM ^
they force players into long term contratcs and hold them to it.
if the nba comes back up and hes got a 1 year contract in china hes stuck in china ball for a year.
the other leagues overseas are a bit more forgiving, with buyout options
October 6th, 2011 at 12:56 AM ^
I wonder if Darius wishes he would have stayed at Michigan another year with the NBA lockout having no end in sight. With him I think we would be the favorites to win the Big Ten this year. Without him I think it will be much harder but still doable.
October 6th, 2011 at 1:27 AM ^
I doubt it. Everyone knew including players that entered the draft that this was coming down the pipe.
October 6th, 2011 at 1:32 AM ^
for all people talk about players getting paid with an education, we certainly do not teach them to correctly apply rational decision theory.
October 6th, 2011 at 3:53 AM ^
During the one week evaluation period where college players could go to NBA workouts many front offices types were saying that there would be no lookout and that it was a scare tactic by college coaches. At least 50% of agents were saying the same thing in attempt to sign clients.
Darius likely got some bad advice along the way. Whether that influenced him I have no idea.
I do know there are very few point guards projected to declare for the 2012 draft ihad Darius continued to improve he would have been well positioned for next year's draft. That being said I think he will be given plenty of opportunity (especially if he D's up) to be successful in LA.
October 6th, 2011 at 8:03 AM ^
is expected to be MUCH deeper than '11 draft. Morris probably would've been drafted in the same spot or lower. He was drafted by the right team with PG problems and is in transition to a new offense without Phil Jackson.
October 6th, 2011 at 9:53 AM ^
I really think that was a huge reason. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out a lockout was coming. Darius got some decent feedback during his initial workouts and felt he shouldn't risk waiting another year.
I still think he made a mistake. He could have been part of a special UM season, raised his Q rating, and still got drafted in the second round, maybe even late first round if he had a great season. He would also be a year closer to his degree.
October 6th, 2011 at 11:15 AM ^
Yeah but he thought he had a first-round contract awaiting him, not a likely season in the NBDL.
October 6th, 2011 at 1:41 AM ^
I read somewhere today, that he was possibly going to play in Mexico, if the lockout continues.
October 6th, 2011 at 2:06 AM ^
next few months will be a real test of his self-motivation and focus, hope his support group steps up.
October 6th, 2011 at 5:43 AM ^
That statement is probably true of most of the league - a few of them will need that support when the first paycheck fails to show up, I imagine. I would like to see Darius Morris play in and succeed in the NBA before the league goes supernova and creates a void in professional sports.
*trying to imagine NBA superstars as they fall into the gravitational field of the remaining neutron star that was once a bustling league*
October 6th, 2011 at 6:14 AM ^
October 6th, 2011 at 11:18 AM ^
No it sucks for the second-round picks who were seniors at this unpredictable time for the league and didn't choose to get in this potential mess now.
Darius made his own bed.
October 6th, 2011 at 7:02 AM ^
Pelinka for representation?
October 6th, 2011 at 8:13 AM ^
I dont know that a lockout is a great idea. Do people still watch the NBA? Are they going to lose the 3 fans they have left?
October 6th, 2011 at 9:35 AM ^
I sincerely apologize for hijacking the thread but I found this article this morning that said something interesting. It says Mitch McGary was "born" in Michigan. I was not aware of this and was wondering if anyone else knew where he was born and how long he lived there. Hopefully this will help in the recruitment of him. Sorry again would start its own thread but I don't have nearly enough points.
If someone wants to take this and start their own thread with it that is fine with me.
October 6th, 2011 at 9:36 AM ^
the decision he made to leave Michigan for a career that wont be...at least this year....but we alll make mistakes
October 6th, 2011 at 10:18 AM ^
and get paid. It's overwhelmingly likely that the season will begin on time. The parameters for a deal are in place. The parties are a couple of percentage points apart on the revenue split. The player agents aren't militating for decertification anymore. Only rampaging irrationality by one side or the other prevents a settlement this weekend.
As other posters have said, the Lakers give Morris a good opportunity to prove himself this year and to find place with a great organization. He's much better off than if he'd waited for the 2012 draft and found himself in Utah or Milwaukee -- even with guaranteed money in his first contract.
By the way, I really enjoyed all of the gratutitous NBA-bashing by all of you non-basketball fans out there.
October 6th, 2011 at 10:47 AM ^
I do my fair share of NBA bashing, but I dont think you can lump me in as a "basketball hater". I've been a huge Michigan basketball fan since the Amaker years.
Maybe if the pistons hadn't traded Chauncey I would be singing a different tune, but I doubt it. The nba and its officiating is just too WWE for my taste. Your hardcore NBA fans stike me as being very young, very urban, and very "front runner". Maybe I'm just prejudiced against people who shop at foot locker.
Some people like it. Its just not for me.
October 6th, 2011 at 11:21 AM ^
He's much better off than if he'd waited for the 2012 draft and found himself in Utah or Milwaukee -- even with guaranteed money in his first contract.
Ha.
Hahaha.
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
October 6th, 2011 at 11:28 AM ^
I don't think that all (or even most) NBA-bashers are non-basketball fans. Basketball has been my favorite sport for 25 years, and continues to be my favorite sport, but I've completely lost interest in the NBA. Perhaps its me, perhpas its the NBA, perhaps its some combination of the two. But clearly the NBA is struggling
October 6th, 2011 at 11:44 AM ^
considering why he broke the Marcus Taylor rule and wishing he could be about a few months away from dishing to Tim Hardaway for a dunk in an elite 8 game instead of pondering when and if he is going to get paid by a league that has been canibalizing itself for 10 years. Best of luck to him, but probably not the best call.
October 6th, 2011 at 11:45 AM ^
I don't understand why everyone goes crazy over labeling topics OT on this message board. A post about a Michigan player is never OT.
Also, something is either OT or it's not. None of this "Way OT!!!!" or "Super Totally OT".